


Personal Warfare

by Levottomuus



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hopeful Ending, One Shot, Post-Danganronpa IF, Therapy, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:01:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27073888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Levottomuus/pseuds/Levottomuus
Summary: After Class 78th escapes the Hope's Peak school grounds, they are recruited by the Future Foundation to help pursue their endeavours... with one exception. Opinions on the fate of the last student clash, until a peculiar course of action is suggested...
Relationships: Gekkogahara Miaya & Ikusaba Mukuro, Ikusaba Mukuro/Naegi Makoto, Implied naekusaba
Comments: 16
Kudos: 26





	Personal Warfare

**Author's Note:**

> Been a hot minute since the last time I've been here, hasn't it?  
> Well, first things first:  
> \- This takes place in the DR IF universe, if by any chance you missed the previous memos  
> \- In this scenario, the whole class is now a part of Future Foundation, with the agenda of the canon survivors moreless unchanged (Makoto, Byakuya and Kyoko want to convert the Remnants, Toko is in Towa City, etc.)  
> \- For the sake of brevity, other characters are not discussed. (but they DO live)  
> \- Pee may or may not be stored in the balls
> 
> That being said, there are some minor things to be addressed still left... but not now!  
> Knock yourselves out!

A pristine porcelain mug sat on the tidily organised desk, steam rising above its rim. The dark-coloured contents gave off a bitter, yet pleasant scent, and its very presence created a pocket of comfort in the otherwise sterile office; with only the ticking of the clock being an obstacle to a perfect silence. Brushing a strand of her teal hair to the side, she carefully took the mug in her hands and brought it to her lips. As she took a sip, her eyes almost involuntarily closed, inviting a better look at the visible dark circles under them. The ongoing project has been taking a lot out of the Future Foundation's employees lately, but for an expert in the psychological department, many a night have been spent researching the ins and outs of what would be the core of the Neo World Program, and Miaya Gekkogahara took that task extremely seriously.

Midway through her third mouthful of bitterness, she heard a light knock on the door. Figuring that would be the end of the respite that was much shorter than she'd have wanted, she lowered her gaze momentarily and sighed to herself before straightening up, fixing her scarf and answering with a simple: "Please, come in."

The door slowly swung open as the unknown visitor entered, locking sights with the Ultimate Therapist. That must be the subject, Miaya thought to herself as the person swiftly separated the hum of the corridors from the now somewhat suffocating silence in the office. As per protocol, Gekkogahara hurriedly stood up from her chair and approached the client and - a little forcedly, but pleasantly - smiled as she greeted the visitor.

"You must be Ikusaba Mukuro, correct? Pleasure to meet you."

The recipient of the greeting, still not averting her gaze from the therapist, swallowed and returned the sentiment. "Yes. Likewise."

Miaya paused for a moment, examining Mukuro's face thoroughly. The raven-black hair, kept in a bob cut; the pale, somewhat thin face full of freckles; and the vacant stare of her sky-blue eyes. And a certain aura that she couldn't quite place, but felt would fall somewhere between that of exhaustion and resignation. Worrying the awkwardness of the situation would only get worse if she kept staring, the teal-haired girl buried her face further in the scarf and gestured towards the empty chair opposite her own. "You may take a seat, if you please..."

\- "Thanks." was the terse response of the Ultimate Soldier as they both walked over to their respective seats and took their place on them for their gazes to meet yet again, now separated by the therapist's monochrome desk.

"Let's get straight to the point. I believe you've been briefed on why you're here, is that right?"

\- "Kind of. I was referred to you, but it seemed like whoever did it was in a hurry, so I haven't exactly been told what for." Mukuro replied neutrally.

"Well, I've been tasked to hold a meeting with you in order to assess your current state..." Miaya continued, "You can consider it a sort of a therapy session, I suppose. So, I will need you to talk about... basically everything, really..." she trailed off as she nervously fiddled with the mug on her desk.

"What's even there to tell? I take it you've already heard or read about everything in the best scenario... and lived through it in the worst." Ikusaba unapologetically retorted.

"That may be so, but even then, I intend to do my job properly, so I would request you to cooperate, for your own good..." Gekkogahara frowned, growing a little impatient with the tone of the girl before her. They both knew what the point of the discussion was. The recently concluded killing game, meant to be broadcast all over the world and spread despair everywhere... only to be abruptly ended after the attempt at Mukuro's life and subsequent fighting between the mastermind and the students. And by extension, the origin of said killing game, the force behind both it and The Tragedy.

And her closest accomplice.

"...Understood. Just, it's a little difficult to pour your heart out when you're basically in the grasp of people who want you dead."

\- "That is... certainly one way of looking at it, I suppose. However, know that your fate has not been decided yet. We wouldn't be having this session otherwise..."

\- "I guess you're trying to comfort me, but you and I both know that's not how it really is. The moment this is over, it's all over."

\- "Not if I can help it, Ikusaba-san."

\- "How can you help me if you don't even trust me?"

Taken a little aback, Miaya recomposed herself and answered. "It is my duty to guide those in need of assistance, when they're cornered with no one to fall back on. I cannot abandon any of my clients just because it would be convenient for me. That is simply not how I operate. So then, are we going to make progress here, or do you intend to continue trying to be a lost cause for no one's sake when there are no second chances?"

Mukuro averted her eyes for a moment, brow furrowing. "I'm not trying to be a lost cause when I already am one. Just look at me, the one person who had the opportunity of stopping that entire madness that had swallowed the whole world... and I just watched with starry eyes as my sister destroyed lives of hundreds of thousands of people. I'm nothing but a monster, and that's just not going to change."

Her words resonated in Miaya's ears, enabling something within her. Her cerulean eyes suddenly widened in what could only be described as profound sadness. "Mukuro..."

Hearing her name caused the black-haired girl to recoil a bit, uncomfortable with the situation. "Excuse me?"

Gekkogahara tilted her head and continued. "I understand the predicament you find yourself in, but it's never too late. Even if I am not convinced, someone here vowed that they will do everything in their power to help you get through this, and they enlisted my help, too. So I am going to try, but that means you have to as well, alright?"

\- "What am I supposed to do? Everything's ruined because I was too weak to resist my sister, and I loved her too much to do anything but what she ordered me to. At worst, I'm a monster, at best, a stupid puppet without free will..."

Miaya's voice grew wearier, yet seemingly more determined, against Mukuro's measured responses. "Don't you feel regret for what happened? Don't you feel sad for the lives that were extinguished, or pity for those that had to suffer through all of it?" she gripped her sleeve, digging her fingers into the fabric.

"I..."

\- "Or do you not feel fear now that you might die if this does not go well...?" the therapist's voice cracked at the last few words.

Ikusaba stared at her unwaveringly, fixated on her expression. She seemed like a doll, almost too fragile to keep up with this because she could break - and yet, the resolve in her eyes was more than apparent. Even though she seemed so weak to Mukuro, the words she spoke felt far more powerful than anything the soldier thought was capable of doing. A beat passed in silence, then another, and Miaya's question lingered in the air that grew heavier with every passing second the inquiry hung over the raven-haired girl's head. Growing ever anxious, the therapist still looked back into her glacier-blue eyes, and it was terrifying.

"...I don't. I... can't."

The words, barely audible, escaped Mukuro's lips as she lowered her gaze to the ground.

On the other side of the desk, Miaya clenched her palms into fists, sighed, and then wrapped her fingers around the coffee mug. It was lukewarm. She opened her mouth a few times only to close it immediately, looking for the right words that were not coming. Biting her tongue, she spoke regardless.

"You say that you're only responsible for taking lives, but that is not true. We know that you also saved fourteen of them."

The therapist took Mukuro by surprise. "Huh... what?"

\- "The killing game... was you and fourteen other students, locked together and forced to kill each other, all orchestrated by Junko Enoshima-"

\- "Don't mention her..."

\- "I will, because I must. And if you truly feel no regret about what you have done, you should have no troubles referring to Enoshima, either. But that's beside the point here..." rebutted Miaya, "before the game was abruptly ended, it was still aired to the outside world. The Future Foundation had seen it, I had seen it. First, you saved Makoto Naegi from bleeding out, and then, despite being revealed as a traitor, you stood up against Junko and saved the rest of your classmates along with him."

\- "Naegi-kun..." Mukuro breathed out as the teal-haired girl paused.

"And... so this someone, who wants to help you, doesn't do so only out of blind faith. He has a clear reason to believe that you are capable of changing. He realised that you are not emotionless, merely suppressed. And he has asked me to help you find your voice again, Mukuro..." she concluded, calling the girl by name again to catch her attention.

"Can I count on you to try... for Naegi-san's sake?"

The Ultimate Soldier almost instantly snapped her eyes at Gekkogahara, pursing her lips into a thin line as a hundred thoughts were coursing her mind.

"I apologise, I was not supposed to tell you, because he feared it might cloud your judgement..." Miaya frowned, "...but I think this is for the best. Seeing your reaction, and watching you as we talk... I am confident now that what Naegi-san told me could really be true. He would not risk something like this, had he not hoped you can save yourself yet."

\- "Are you implying that Naegi-kun... believes in me?" Ikusaba protested weakly.

"Quite so. Despite knowing all about what happened in the past, he chose to believe in you."

\- "But... why? How...?" Mukuro found herself at a loss for words.

"That would be something I cannot answer, and perhaps best asked the man himself." For the first time since the beginning, Miaya genuinely smiled, and as she mustered her courage, she stood up and approached the sitting black-haired girl, reaching out a hand to the visibly shaken soldier. "We can make this work, together. But the first step is on you. Tell me, Mukuro. How do you feel?"

...

...

...

"I... I feel so ashamed... ashamed of myself..."

\- "What for?"

\- "For not being able to prevent everything. Had I been stronger - no... Had I thought for myself and not for my sister, I could have saved everyone."

\- "Do you feel regret for what happened, then?"

\- "...No, I don't think that's it. If I regretted it, I wouldn't let her manipulate me the entire time like that. It's... so hard to say, but... I don't believe I would say no if it happened again." Mukuro ruminated out loud, earning a look of concern from Miaya, who still held her hand outstretched.

"However... the reason why I wouldn't say no is... because the I from the past, who answered herself to Junko, was a miserable and despicable person. But I don't want to be that anymore..." she elaborated, looking into the cerulean eyes of the therapist. "I don't want to be Mukuro Ikusaba, the Ultimate Soldier who plunged the world into despair. I'd rather be anything else. Even if it means... I'm not myself anymore."

Miaya's concern for the girl kept intensifying, but something inside told her that she should let her speak just a little longer. Ikusaba's eyes darted to the desk as she attempted to form her thoughts.

"But then... I'd just be running away from myself like a coward. It wouldn't achieve anything, and I'd just sink deeper into a hole I had dug for myself. That's not right..." the black-haired lass shook her head, more to herself than anyone else. "Listen, I still don't believe that I can do this, but... after everything I've done, Naegi-kun still has faith in me. I don't want to let him down by giving up and letting myself die. I... want to be strong enough to face everyone... and apologise. For all the suffering I caused and the pain they had to endure. Because... even though I know I can't ever fix it, I have to."

Finishing her speech, Mukuro glanced back at the therapist. To her surprise, she was smiling broadly, and her arm was still extended towards the soldier. Without thinking twice, Mukuro stood up to face her. "It may not feel like it, but I think this turned out to be a rather efficient start. Thank you for being honest with me, Mukuro. And... I must also apologise for using your name so liberally, it's simply one of my routines, so I hope you can forgive that intrusion..."

Ikusaba momentarily raised an eyebrow. Miaya quickly retracted her hand and created a modest distance between the two of them, hiding her face in her scarf. "Ah, I... no, that is not one of my routines. I simply got carried away a little. I hope it did not make you uncomfortable..."

Mukuro couldn't help but feel a tiny simper creep up on her face. “It’s alright.”

For her, it truly was alright in a sense. They were trying so hard to see through Mukuro Ikusaba, the Ultimate Despair, to see Mukuro Ikusaba, the high school student with feelings and ambitions - feelings and ambitions she had almost forgotten herself. And even though she wasn't sure if the human 'me' in her would ever return, she now had a reason to try to rescue it.

Miaya blinked. "Well then... shall we continue?"

Mukuro Ikusaba had hope.

________________

Gekkogahara stood by the sink, washing her mug while observing the sleep deprivation written in her face, when she heard a resolute knock on the door. "Come in," she hollered, and as she turned around with the mug in hand, she was met by the nervous face of one Ultimate Lucky Student.

"So... how did it go?"

\- "Naegi-san... good evening. I thought you would have discussed the matter with Ikusaba-san by now."

\- "They kept her in her room throughout the day ever since you’d ended. Besides, I'd rather hear it from you."

\- "Well, it was a bit rough at first, but..."

\- "So I can count on you to lead her therapy from now on?"

Miaya analysed her Future Foundation colleague thoroughly. A little apprehensive, but determined to do the right thing. Very fixated on the wellbeing of others around him. If the dark circles under his eyes were anything to go by, he worked tirelessly to make the Neo World Program a success, but at the same time, he seemed to have forgotten that he's not the only one assigned to the project. Still, she nodded, earning a look and a sigh of relief from Makoto.

"Thank you so much, Gekkogahara-san. I appreciate it. Hopefully, it won't take too long. I would hate to inconvenience you anymore."

She smiled. "A therapist does what a therapist must. It is quite alright, Naegi-san."

And with that, a taller silhouette appeared in the doorway. "Naegi-kun. We have to go."

"Right. Sorry, Kirigiri-san." Makoto replied. "Take care, Gekkogahara-san. And thank you again. Here's hoping for a better start next time."

Miaya only wordlessly nodded as the boy hurriedly left the room and closed the door to her office, the muffled sounds of his and Kyoko's steps slowly diminishing until only the ticking of the clock remained resonant in the girl's ears. She leaned against the wall next to the sink, stifling a yawn, and resumed her train of thought from earlier.

Works himself hard day and night to keep his mind occupied. Doesn't get enough sleep because of it. Likely cause... excessive stress due to someone close to him.

A therapy session might be of use.

________________

Mukuro sat on the bed, reading through the notes she’d taken so far. The list has been growing for a while now, for jotting down every single thing she wanted to apologise for was going to be an arduous task indeed. It wasn’t ground-breaking, but it was a beginning.

Then, the PDA lying on the nightstand beeped. Ikusaba laid her notepad down beside her and reached for the device. The display read ‘1 new message’. Not wasting any time, she received the mail and began reading.

“Ikusaba Mukuro,  
after a lengthy deliberation, the schedule of your future sessions has been decided.  
The next one shall take place on Monday, 7 AM sharp.  
Sincerely,  
Gekkogahara Miaya, Future Foundation Branch Office 7

Mukuro nodded to herself. Things would start to move, and she couldn’t wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for getting to the end of this piece! I hope you've enjoyed reading.  
> A couple of things to take note of:  
> \- Makoto and Kyoko are not a thing in this (they're colleagues, but because their memories SHOULD still be gone and they haven't got close to each other like in the game, it's justified, methinks)  
> \- Miaya is alive because there's no reason for the Final Killing Game (yet?)  
> \- Even though IF says that Mukuro takes the blame for Junko, it's never specified how it happens, so that's free real estate  
> \- There is a non-zero probability that urine is stored in the testes
> 
> As always, feedback is much appreciated, and any concerns will be answered and hopefully sufficiently explained.  
> See you around!


End file.
